Michael Brewer, South Florida Teen Set on Fire, Completes Treatment at Burn Clinic

Posted by Caroline Black

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS/AP) Michael Brewer, the South Florida teenager who was allegedly set on fire by three classmates, has officially completed his treatment at a burn clinic.

snipped from article:And when, a mere five months after his attack, a fellow Deerfield Beach student, Josie Lou Ratley, was attacked in front of the school he was there by her bedside giving her and her family hope even as she lay in a coma.

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS/WFOR) Michael Brewer blew out the candles on his birthday cake as a crowd cheered and the media crowded around the young man who had turned 16. The celebration came just one day before the one year anniversary of the day he nearly died.

FORT LAUDERDALE— Two of the teenagers accused of attempted murder in the 2009 burning of Michael Brewer were called to testify against their former co-defendant Wednesday, but lawyers on both sides struggled to reconcile the testimony with their theories of the crime.

Denver Colorado "DC" Jarvis, who admitted pouring a jug of what he believed to be rubbing alcohol on Brewer during a confrontation at the Lime Tree Village apartment complex in Deerfield Beach, told prosecutors he was acting on an offer of "$10 to $5" from Matthew Bent, who is on trial for second-degree attempted murder.

But Jarvis, now 17, also flatly contradicted the sworn testimony of numerous witnesses. He denied coming to Brewer's house with Bent the day before the burning to provoke Brewer's father, denied being the first to pick up the liquid-filled container he and his peers found minutes before he poured its contents on Brewer, and denied that Bent was even near Brewer at the apartment complex parking lot until seconds before the fire was lit.

hey angie - strangest thing happened about 2 hrs.ago, I clicked on cnnlive and there was the "burned teen" trial. I watched about 15 minutes of it before it shut down for the day. The judge said the jurors should be back tomorrow at 1:45. I will be looking for it to be on then.

Maybe we should do a shout-out to get everyone onboard here - since Sandusky won't be on again til Monday.

Chickiebutt is trying to teach me to multitask ..this might be just the right time and place.

ohoh - I was so wrong. It is the Matthew Bent trial I was watching - but I saw Michael Bremer testify - the 15 minutes I as able to watch. Matthew is one of the def. accused of setting Michael on fire.

Last edited by summerthyme on Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:06 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : gave you wrong info)

hi all, This trial is downtown from me, but I can't go as I am babysitting. I wish I was free to go. Out of the three kids that were involved with this, two took pleas and are serving time now. This kid wouldn't take the plea and I know his attorney wants us all to believe he is just an angel. NOT...this was a horror show when it happened. Michael Brewer has had a rough road but he looks great. I know they moved from Broward county up to Palm Beach county to give him a better chance in school. The same school district produced another case where a kid got pissed off at a girl who allegedly texted something about the kids dead brother. He went home got steel toed boots hunted her down and kicked her head in. She lived, but she is brain damaged and is just very simple now. Kids scare me sometimes.

FORT LAUDERDALE - Michael Brewer made a surprising revelation Thursday when he took the stand in the attempted murder trial of Matthew Bent, the former schoolmate accused of instigating the 2009 attack that nearly cost Brewer his life.

Brewer, 17, who later left the Broward County courtroom in tears, began his testimony by telling jurors that the $40 debt Bent had been trying to collect from him was for a bowl used to smoke marijuana. In previous statements to investigators and lawyers, Brewer had said the debt was for a "Little Mermaid" video game that he never agreed to buy.

No court because of air conditioning problem. Monday for closing arguments.

tesstruhart, interesting so close to your home, I always liked Brewer & felt so sorry for him & his family, it's an unbelievable painful ordeal he has lived through. Do you know if his family could sue the other kid's families in a Civil Suit of if they tried? I know laws differ in different States as to the parent's responsibilty for the action of their kids.

I can certainly understand why the family moved to get a new start, different school, new friends.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A teenager accused of orchestrating an attack that left his classmate in flames was trying to sidestep the blame when he offered others money to hurt the boy, prosecutors said in closing arguments Monday.

"Don't let him get away with letting other people do his dirty work for him," Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider said. "Matthew Bent was the reason why this crime happened. He was offering people money to beat Michael, not to scare Michael."

Bent, 17, is charged with attempted second-degree murder in the 2009 attack on Michael Brewer.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A teenager accused of orchestrating an attack that left his classmate in flames was convicted Tuesday of aggravated battery after jurors decided against more serious charges.

Matthew "Zeke" Bent faced a charge of attempted second-degree murder after prosecutors say he offered friends money in 2009 to harm Michael Brewer, who was doused in rubbing alcohol and set on fire. The six jurors, who deliberated for just over a day, had the option of finding him guilty of a lesser offense.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The judge presiding over the case of a Florida teenager set on fire by middle school classmates has stepped aside from the case.

Defense attorneys asked Broward Circuit Judge Michael Robinson to recuse himself, and he issued an order doing so last week. Their motion contended Robinson improperly communicated with a juror outside the presence of prosecutors and defense attorneys and also that the judge appeared biased against the defense.

The trial is over, but legal maneuvers continue in the case of Matthew Bent, the Deerfield Beach teenager convicted in June of aggravated battery for inciting the burning attack of Michael Brewer in October 2009.

Bent, who faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, had been scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 10 but now he must wait longer after Broward Circuit Judge Michael A. Robinson, who presided over the trial, recused himself.

Broward Circuit Judge Matthew I. Destry now presides over the case, and on Tuesday he scheduled a status conference for Aug. 17 — without setting dates to address several outstanding issues, including a motion for a new trial submitted by Bent’s defense attorneys.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida judge has refused, for now, to grant a new trial for the alleged ringleader in an attack in which a teenager was drenched in alcohol and set on fire.

A Broward County judge ruled Tuesday that 18-year-old Matthew Bent does not deserve retrial in the 2009 attack on Michael Brewer, who was then 15. But another hearing is set on potential problems with jury deliberations that could also lead to a new trial.

Judge denies — in part — request for new trial in Michael Brewer burning caseMatthew Bent, who is accused of setting Michael Brewer on fire in Oct. 2009, waits for the jury to enter the courtroom during his first day of trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on June 12. Susan Stocker / Sun Sentinel / MCT

Posted on Tuesday, 09.18.12By DANIEL CHANGdchang@MiamiHerald.com

A Broward County Circuit Court judge early Tuesday denied in part a request for a new trial by Matthew Bent, the Deerfield Beach teen convicted by a jury in June of aggravated battery for inciting the burning attack of Michael Brewer in October 2009.

Broward Circuit Judge Matthew I. Destry ruled Bent, 18, was not entitled to a new trial based on his defense attorney’s claim that the witnesses who testified in the June trial were not credible.

However, Destry said he may grant a new trial based on allegations of jury misconduct made by one of the jurors. He will interview all of the jurors on Oct. 12.

Matthew Bent is seen with his attorney Johnny McCrea after they learned that the jury misconduct charge had been denied Oct. 22 at the Broward County Courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale. (Joe Cavaretta, Sun Sentinel / October 21, 2012)

By Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel7:54 p.m. EDT, October 22, 2012

A Broward judge shot down Matthew Bent's request for a new trial Monday, ruling that there wasn't enough proof of juror misconduct to set aside the jury's verdict in the burning of Michael Brewer.

But four months after Bent was convicted of aggravated battery in the notorious 2009 case, a sentencing date is still nowhere in sight.

One juror later claimed that she wanted to acquit Bent of all charges but felt pressured by the others to reach a compromise verdict. She also accused fellow jurors of discussing aspects of the case before the trial was over and of injecting race into the deliberations.

The South Florida teen convicted for his role in the fire attack on classmate Michael Brewer faces sentencing Thursday.

Matthew Bent, 18, is scheduled to be sentenced by Circuit Judge Matthew Destry at 1:30 p.m.

Bent was convicted on an aggravated battery charge in the 2009 attack on Brewer and faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars. Brewer, who was 15 at the time of the attack, survived but suffered severe burns.

MIAMI (WSVN) -- One of the suspects involved in setting a South Florida teen on fire in 2009 has had his sentence reduced.

~Snipped~

Denver Jarvis was one of two suspects who took a plea deal and then testified against the alleged ringleader.

Jarvis was originally sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 22 years of probation, but a judge on Wednesday has lowered the probationary period to ten years. However, he will still serve all eight years in state prison

One of the teenagers serving prison time for the burning of Michael Brewer in 2009 will not have to spend as much time on probation as originally sentenced, a Broward judge ruled Wednesday.

Denver Jarvis, 18, who poured a container of rubbing alcohol over Brewer's head during a confrontation at a Deerfield Beach parking lot, pleaded no contest in February 2012 to second-degree attempted murder and was sentenced to eight years in prison, a year of house arrest, and 21 years of probation.

Broward Circuit Judge Michael Robinson eliminated the year of house arrest and cut Jarvis' probation to 10 years.

More than three years after he was set on fire by three classmates, Michael Brewer thought a painful chapter in his life was over when the last of his attackers was sentenced to prison. His family said it meant the Deerfield Beach teen could now focus on his recovery.

But that heeling process was interrupted Thursday when the 18-year-old Brewer was stopped by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and charged with drug possession.

Among the items found in Brewer’s possession, according to the arrest report: A bag of marijuana, a container with “crack” cocaine, 14 glass pipes, a bong, three empty pill containers, a grinder and cigarette papers.